this craving for variety and effect given birth to a secondary imperfect species of expressive music, in which sentiment is endeavoured to be excited by the imitation of trifling circumstances, such as the whistling of birds, the gallopping of horses, the dropping of rain, &c. thus inducing puerilities worse than an utter disregard of meaning? that is to say, more or less of them, are admitted by most writers on music for instance, by Dr Burney, Rousseau, and Jackson of Exeter; and does not this inconsistency throw a discredit upon modern musicians, particularly when it is considered that those composers who have been most regardless of the principles upon which the foregoing queries are founded, do not ap pear to have invented any other, but have gone on without any ostensible views of musical expression at all? 40. Finally; though the modern music appears to be composed in utter contempt of any theory, is it not strange that the foregoing remarks, The above remarks are so ingenious, and are invested in language so precise and close, that they form an agreeable contrast with the vague manner in which questions relating to musical expression are generally discussed. As we differ considerably from our correspondent in musical faith, we shall endeavour, in next Number, to make reply to some of his queries. The nature of musical expression is a subject well worthy of discussion, and, in certain respects, appears to be involved in so much mystery, that it is a great chance whether it ever be completely understood. If the theory of it were to be ascertained, it would probably throw much light on the human constitution in general. EDITOR. ON A NEW AND IMPROVED METHOD OF TEACHING LATIN. Yet WHAT shall be taught? is a question interesting to every one; but to inquire into the management of the business of teaching, with a view to improvement, seems, in this country at least, never to have been considered as worthy of much attention. surely the successful issue of the labours of pupils and preceptors must depend in a great measure on the mode of conducting the business of instruction. The system of Joseph Lancaster, as far as it was practicable, has been long introduced more or less into many of our numerous schools, but it can never be generally adopted except in charity schools. Those who are able to pay their children's education will be disposed to think, and justly, that if they are sufficiently acquainted with what they have been studying to act as monitors in teaching it to others, they ought to be employed in learning something themselves. Some alteration in the mode of teaching Latin seems essentially necessary. It is a circumstance familiar to the observation of every scholar, that however well acquainted with the reading of Latin our countrymen may be, they generally seem to feel nearly as much confusion in hearing a quotation of any length from that dead language, as they should at the appearance of one of those gentlemen who spoke it when it was living; on the continent, where many of the professors deliver their lectures in Latin, this auricular imperfection is removed by listening to discussions on subjects with which the students must previously be in some degree acquainted; while it is extremely improbable that the professors can deliver themselves so rapidly, as not to afford their auditors an opportunity to become familiarized in a short time to the language employed. The discontinuance of lecturing in Latin in our universities may have been favourable to the diffusion of knowledge, but it must be quite evident to every careful observer, that it has been very injurious to the cultivation of Latin. To remedy this, and at the same time improve the management of teaching languages in general, I submit the following plan for the consideration of all those interested in the business of education. According to the present mode of teaching languages in schools and universities, the accession of every new pupil is an advantage to the teacher, but a loss to the other pupils, at least, if actual examinations are useful. By the plan which I am about to propose, each individual will have all the ad vantage of going over the business of the class, nearly as if alone, together with the stimulating influence of the emulation excited by public teaching. It will be obvious to those acquainted with the subject, that a good deal of what I suggest is only a modification of Dufief's plan of teaching French, as laid down in his "Nature displayed." This plan, in opposition to a most disingenuous cross critic, I hold to be very ingenious, and to grown pupils, at least, it must be extremely useful. But it does not appear to me at all necessary to have recourse to so violent a change of books and of system as Dufief recommended. All the advantages he can promise, and some more, together with all the benefits of the present mode of tuition, may, I think, be obtained by the adoption of the following method: The business of a Latin class is comprised in three great divisions, 1st Lessons got by memory; 2d, Versions; 3d, Lessons to be translated into English. 1st, Lessons to be said from Memory. In declining nouns, adjectives, &c. the whole class say at once. The master, to preserve regularity and uniformity, names each case, the pupils immediately adding the Latin and the English. In this manner all the declension is gone over. When verbs are said, the master names the word, tense, person, and number; after the first person singular it is only necessary to utter the words second, third, first plural, second, third, for the rest of each tense. In all large classes a great deal of time is lost by going over the lesson several times, so as to let every one say something; by saying at once much time will be gained though each lesson be repeated two or three times. To this part of the plan there can be only two objections. That some of the class may go wrong unobserved, or that they may not say at all. To the first objection I answer, that if a person possessed of a good ear can at once discover a false note struck by any individual of a large band of musicians, though playing a piece harmonised in many parts, much more will an attentive master be able to discover what may be called a false note, when his pupils are all going over the same part, rendered more distinct by articulation. I do not speak hypothetically when I affirm this will be found to be the fact. With respect to the second objection, it is easily answered. Supposing some, from ignorance or perverseness, not to say, still they will hear what is said; for it is one great advantage of this plan, that it breaks all combinations in idleness; as the master, though he may not always discover any one who does not say, can at once observe any one who addresses his neighbour, and check his inattention. Besides, it is supposing too much to imagine, that many should remain silent from perverseness, and none need do so from ignorance, as they may still say with the help of their class-fellows as at present; and surely that plan is to be preferred, where all may say at a time, and where many must do so, to that where only one can. To keep alive the industry of any disposed to be lazy, the lessons might be heard occasionally in the present manner; in which way also it will be necessary to hear the grammatical rules, and whatever cannot be conveniently divided into small portions. When the lessons are given out for next day, they are to be read as the others were said, the master taking particular care to articulate distinctly any word that may appear difficult to pronounce. If dialogues are said from memory in the class, they are heard in this manner. The master gives a sentence of the English, desiring one of the class to give the Latin, and so on till he has ascertained that it has been all properly prepared. When this is done, let him give the first Latin sentence, calling on the class at once to give the English, and to add to it the Latin sentence just pronounced. In this manner, all the dialogue is to be heard, by which means each individual in the class will say the whole. 2d, Versions. The correcting of versions is generally the most laborious part of a teacher's duty, and the most useless to the scholar. I propose to render this much more interesting and advantageous to the pupils, by employing themselves as the correctors of each other. Let the dux exchange themes with the boy at the bottom of the class, the second from the top with the second from the bottom, and so on through the whole, in this manner the labour will be probably in proportion to the ability for it. When the exchanges are completed, the master reads from the English a small portion, calling on the class, in order, to read the Latin; he then points out what is wrong, and how it is to be altered; each individual corrects the version before him, and when he has finished, marks the number of errors at the bottom. By making the number of errors decide the place each holds in the class, he will be induced to examine the corrections, in order to see whether they be fairly stated; and in a few minutes an affair will thus be profitably gone through, which by the present plan, often occasions the teacher much labour, accompanied with the melancholy reflection, that what he painfully corrects is, without ever being looked at, carelessly thrown aside. To this part of the plan I do not anticipate any objections, the most ignorant will be able to perform, under the direction of the master, the task imposed on him, while the supervision of his class fellows will have considerable influence in exciting the attention of the student while writing his version. What may be the practice at present with respect to Latin themes in our universities I do not know; but twenty or thirty years ago, in one of them, at least, it was quite a solemn farce. The versions were regularly bundled up and carried home by the janitor to the house of the professor, and as regularly brought back, nine out of ten of them unexamined, or at least without the slightest mark of praise or reprobation. Mutatis mutandis, the plan which I have chalked out, would certainly be preferable. Should it be alleged that this would tend to spread the critical Cacoethes, already so prevalent among our countrymen, it may be answered, that perhaps it would improve the talent as well as the taste for criticism. Translation Lessons. These lessons are first gone over in the usual way, each pupil individually translating a portion, and undergoing the customary grammatical examination. After this is finished, the master orders all the books to be shut. He then begins the lesson, giving out a short sentence or member of a sentence, in the arrangement in which it is printed, calling on the class simultaneously to give the English, and to add the Latin sentence they have just heard; and in this manner he will go over the whole translation lessons. The importance of this part of the plan must be quite evident. Every pupil will translate the whole lesson; he will pronounce all the Latin correctly, if his master does so; and he will have the advantage of saying dialogues, according to the genuine structure and arrangement of the language, without the labour of previously learning them. After a few months, the master should give the class the English, desiring them to give the Latin, or this might be done in addition to the other mode of hearing the lesson. And I am satisfied he will be surprised at the facility with which they will give their Latin, should this plan be rigidly and regularly followed. Perhaps it may be here objected, that from the artificial structure of the Latin language, when the sentences are broken into small portions, the sense will come out awkwardly and in grotesque English. To this I reply, that the sense will meet the ear of the pupil, exactly as it did the Romans themselves; and the corrupting effect of the odd translation, will be counteracted by the previous translation in the ordinary way. The method of conducting a public Latin class, which I have now gone over, will be attended with the following signal advantages: Every individual of the class will be almost constantly employed; he will say nearly all that should be got by memory; he will translate the entire lesson of each day; he will acquire an accurate pronunciation; he will understand the language as well when he hears it as when he reads it; certainly a great desideratum. His ear and his organs of speech will get completely attuned to its structure and melody, and by the time he has finished his course, he will be able not only to quote readily the authors he has studied, but even to speak and write in their language, with a facility and correctness totally unattainable by the present mode of tuition. Perhaps, before concluding, it may be as well to advert to the difficulties attending the adoption of this plan, even where its advantages are acknowledged. External opposition no teacher has reason to fear; if his employers take the trouble to inform themselves, whether he be a successful teacher, they will hardly inquire what plan he follows, particularly if his castigations are moderate; and, fortunately for this plan, in that respect it will materially diminish the necessity of punishments, as the pupils, being much more employed, will have less time for idleness and mischief. Within the walls of his class room, what opposition has he to dread? Men, it is said, are but children of a larger growth, yet somehow they have all got of late rather impatient of arbitrary power, and even in many cases of legitimate sway; but where the teacher sits, he reigns uncontrolled and uncontrollable. Some little difficulty may be experienced, perhaps, on in troducing the plan, in classes already advanced in the study of the language, but by a few days perseverance it will vanish; with a class beginning the study, one mode of teaching must be as easily adopted as another. But indeed the greatest opposition I anticipate, is not from pupils, nor from parents, but from teachers themselves, that genus irritable which is in many instances more apt to teach than to learn. However, as I would fain obtain, for this my lucubration, candid consideration, and intelligent patronage, I hereby dedicate it, with every feeling of respect and esteem, to the Rector and other Masters of the High School of Edinburgh. W. ON THE INTRODUCTION OF THE ORIENTAL BREED OF HORSES INTO EUROPE. (Translated from an Essay of Count Wenceslas Rzeiwuski.) THE late Dr Seetzen, in his letter, dated Mocha, 14th November 1810, in which he treats of Arabian horses, proposes as a question, "Whether the period of the introduction of the first Arabian horse into Europe preceded or followed the date of the crusades. I have not at present the means of giving a very accurate solution to this question. At the same time, as the investigation is one of considerable interest, I shall endeavour, at least, to give some account of the introduction of the Eastern breed of horses into Europe. I. State of the_Horses of ancient Persia, India, Egypt, and Africa. Arabia, Persia, India, and Egypt must always have possessed horses of that description which we so much admire at the present time. The Arabians of the desert, who are proud to an extreme of the purity and antiquity of their breed of horses, allege that the five most celebrated families of them, known by the appellation El choms are descended from five favourite mares of the Prophet. But did not Mahomet find them in that country where the race is indigenous ? The Arabians and the Persians, at the most remote period, appear most frequently as infantry. In general every nation which employs the horse in war, possesses good horses, and attaches a great value to them. Among the ancient Persians, the horse was not only the object of esteem, but of reverence. We find that horses were dedicated to the sun-and it was to the neighing of his horse that Darius was indebted for the people. The word Arb, which signifies horse, was attached to the end of several of the names of the ancient Persians, such as Thamurasb, Kurchasb, Lohrasb, Hystasb, Holasb, a fact which forms an additional proof of the veneration which they had for that noble animal. It may also be mentioned, that the Cilicians presented annually a certain number of white horses to Darius, as tribute. The Arabians, and in general all other nations situated within the Ganges, Oxus, Araxes, the Black Sea, the Mediterranean, the Red Sea, and the Indian sea, did not yield to the Persians in attachment to the horse. Indeed Herodotus and Strabo both assert that the best horses were to be obtained from these regions. The perfection of the horse, that is to say, the leanness of its head, its slender body, its great strength, combined with abundance of spirit, is derived chiefly from the excellence of the pasturage; for the fact is beyond question, that moist pasture renders the head clumsy-the jaws of an unseemly shape the eyes weak-the belly slack and unable to digest the foodthe chest fleshy-the legs thick and liable to different diseases. It is this which debilitates the constitution, renders the movement of the horse sluggish and ungraceful, and extinguishes its fine natural spirit, and renders it vicious or stupid. On the other hand, it is in the dry pastures of Arabia, Persia, &c., that we find those horses which, on account of their superior strength, and action, and sagacity, and spirit, are admired by all the world. The interior of Arabia and of Persia is a plain, sufficiently elevated above the level of the sea to render the pasture dry, aromatic, and wholesome, surcharged with none of those saline particles which, it is true, give lustre to the skin, but which, at the same time, render it difficult for the horse to become habituated to any other country of a different climate to which it may be transported. As a proof of this, it may be remarked, that the horses of the Northern Crimea, and those belonging to the country of the Calmucks, situated within the Volga, the Kuma, the Black Sea, and the Don, do not thrive well until they have passed a year in Volognea, Podolea, and the Ukraine, where I had the opportunity of making this interesting observation. The plains of Persia being raised to a considerable height above the level of the sea, and consisting of a bed of earth, upon a foundation of granite, and the plains of Arabia being also sufficiently, although not so much above the level of the sea, and having a portion of sand mixed with the vegetable soil (a circumstance of great advantage in pasture ground,) these two countries being thus naturally dry by means of their heat, attract the moisture from the horse; while, on the other hand, the aromatic herbs, which are strong and succulent, chase from him those humours, the exudation of which is favoured by the imperceptible but continual perspiration of a hot climate. Thus the horses of these countries are very seldom affected with strangles and glandular diseases—their legs are well proportioned, and the hoof is compact and hard. I believe that the horses of Arabia and Persia have experienced no change either to the better or to the worse since the time of Darius. Vot. V. The country of India being mountainous, presents the same advantages. But Egypt is not quite so favourable to the breed of horses on account of the overflowings of the Nile, which render the soil and the atmosphere more moist. I have noticed in some Egyptian horses a slight tendency to certain diseases, which I have never observed either in the Arabian or Persian horse. This tendency must, I think, become, by degrees, less apparent, and at length entirely disappear on advancing towards high Egypt and Abyssinia. With regard to the horses of Western Africa, they are all of Arabian descent, and as the pasturage on the coast of Barbary is nearly the same with that of Arabia, the horses reared in the former country bear much resemblance to those of the latter. The Persian, Arabian, and Numidian cavalry appear in history with the same qualities which at present characterise the cavalry of oriental and barbarous nations. Perhaps it may be objected to this statement, that the ancient Persian horses were yoked to chariots armed with scythes-but to this I reply, that every good saddle horse is capable of being a good draught horse, and especially when yoked to a light car, like the cars of the Persians, whose destructiveness depended on the swiftness of their course. Quintus Curtius, in describing these chariots, informs us, that those who conducted them let the reins fall loosely on the neck of the horses, and pressed them on with such impetuosity, that the chariots overthrew whatever they encountered. At the same time it is proper for me to remark, that every horse which we see in harness now a days, could not be used with advantage as a saddle horse. After all that I have said upon this subject, I think it may be safely granted, that the horses which existed in the time of Darius were of the same nature with those which now exist in the above mentioned climates. Herodotus, in writing of the cavalry of Xerxes, makes particular mention of the horses of the Persians, Arabians, Medes, Cisians, Indians, Bactrians, the nations on the border of the Caspian Sea, all the nations occupying the country between the Ganges, Oxus, Araxes, and the Mediterranean Sea, the Red and the Indian Seas. He 3 F |